


as tightly as you held onto me

by piecesofgold



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, purely self indulgent sick-fic, sprinkle of angst bc it’s me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 09:24:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21407911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piecesofgold/pseuds/piecesofgold
Summary: Listening to Gar’s ragged breathing all through the night and feeling Rachel shiver beside him makes him wonder if this is how his mother had felt with him.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Rachel Roth, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r
Comments: 8
Kudos: 158





	as tightly as you held onto me

**Author's Note:**

> so i’ve had a really weird day.
> 
> first of all, titans was renewed for s3, so hurray for that!
> 
> second, for some odd reason i started thinking about this one show i watched years ago, which led me to my Very old ff.net account which has been untouched since 2014 because i can’t remember the login, that holds all my oldest, cringiest, terribly written fanfictions that’d i’d like nothing more than to delete from the face of the earth.
> 
> until i started reading them back, seeing how much my writing has evolved and improved, and what _type_ of writer i am. it made me remember that i used to write because i _wanted_ to and i loved it, not because i felt obligated to and there was some sort of expectation. reading them back remotivated me to open up my WIPs, so, yeah.
> 
> this is basically a sickfic because i’m sick right now lmao. also, my process of titling fics it literally just hitting shuffle on spotify at this point.
> 
> enjoy!

“What are you doing?” Rachel yawns.

Dick tries not to jump at her voice. He thought she’d fallen asleep. “Nothing. Paperwork. Go back to sleep.”

Rachel blinks at him blearily. “S’too hot.”

Dick reaches over to feel her clammy forehead. Yep, she’s burning up again. Careful not to knock his laptop off his thighs, he tugs one of the many blankets she’s wrapped in off. “Meds?”

“Please.”

Abandoning his work, Dick heads to the medicine cabinet, filling up another water bottle for good measure.

Rachel’s been sick since yesterday, and Dick’s certain she caught it from Gar who caught it from Jason during the latter's last visit to the Tower. Dick appears to have been spared, and Kory and Conner don’t seem to be able to _get_ sick, so there's that, too.

If there’s one thing the whole debacle has taught him, it’s that both teenagers are wholly useless when sick - Gar had put himself into quarantine in his room for a week, with Conner happy enough to go back and forth with medicine and food. Dick and Kory had taken turns watching him of a night until his fever broke. Rachel had flopped onto the sofa in the main sitting area and announced she had no intention of moving. Dick’s been hovering over her ever since, sifting through old case files while Rachel watches _Kim's Convenience_ on Netflix.

He’s being overly fretful about a regular flu, he knows that. But it’s not something he’s dealt with before, a sick child. He has vague memories of his mother at his bedside whenever he was sick on the road, remembers her hands on his forehead, her soft murmuring - he figures that’s a good enough starting point.

It’s the anxiety and unexpected _fear_ of the kids being sick that he didn’t expect. Listening to Gar’s ragged breathing all through the night and feeling Rachel shiver beside him makes him wonder if this is how his mother had felt with him.

Rachel’s dozing when he gets back, so he coaxes her awake until she’s coherent enough to take her meds with only a grimace. “Bleugh.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what you get for playing video games with Gar while he’s sick,” Dick teases, handing her a Kool Pak and water. Rachel sticks out her tongue, petulant.

He lets her curl up against him while he taps away at his laptop - if he gets sick, so be it - and she’s snoring into his shoulder ten minutes into the next _Kim’s_ episode.

Dick’s considering taking a nap right there when the elevator _dings_, and Kory singsongs a “Helloooo!”

Dick hastily puts a finger to his lips to quiet her, pointing at Rachel sleeping beside him. Kory winces, mouthing _sorry_. Gar and Conner appear behind her, one struggling with an armful of groceries and the other not looking the slightest bit put out by the four paper bags he’s carrying.

“Do I even want to know what you bought?” Dick asks as Gar throws himself into the adjoining sofa, groaning about his arms hurting.

“We got everything on the list!” He insists, and Dick raises his eyebrows. “...plus a little extra.”

“A little?”

“We’re stocked up for the next month. Don’t think about it too much.” Kory appears behind Dick, and he tips his head back to let her drop a kiss on his mouth, pointedly ignoring Gar’s complaining. Tentatively, she pats Rachel’s head. “Any better?”

“Getting worse,” Dick admits. Kory makes a sympathetic noise.

“How come Kory and Conner don’t get sick?” Gar asks, frowning.

“They’re aliens.”

“_Half_-alien,” Conner corrects from the kitchen.

“My point still stands!”

“We _can_ get sick,” Kory counterpoints, sitting beside Dick. “Just not from Earth pathogens.”

Gar seems to consider this, then shrugs in acceptance. His eyes slide to Rachel. “But what about demons? Or - half demons?”

“Uh.” Dick looks at Kory for help, and she shrugs. “No idea.”

“Well, if a half-demon can get sick, by that logic shouldn’t a half alien be able to?”

“That’s assuming anyone in this Tower comes close to logical.” Kory’s got a half smile on her lips now. Dick can tell she’s enjoying this.

“I mean, Dick’s the only biological human,” Gar points out.

“Why does that sound like an insult?” Dick protests. Conner finally joins them, munching on a sandwich.

Gar ignores Dick, moving his legs for Conner to sit. “You agree with me, right? It’s weird that Rachel and I can get sick but you can’t?”

Conner shrugs. “I mean, doesn’t that just bring up which part of our DNA is dominant and whether it’s vulnerable?”

Gar stares at him, then flops back down into the pillows. “My brain hurts.”

“Does that mean you’re going to shut up?” Rachel suddenly mumbles, making them all jump.

Dick tightens his arm around her. “You alright?”

“Eugh.” She huddles closer to him, rubbing her face into his shoulder. Dick decidedly does not think about how he’s _definitely_ going to get sick now. “Can you put _Kim’s_ back on?”

“Wait, I thought we agreed on _Our Planet_.” Gar jumps in, looking at Kory.

Kory holds her hands up. “I had nothing to do with this, you and Conner had that argument.”

“So we’re not watching _Brooklyn Nine-Nine_?” Conner frowns, offended.

“Not unless you want Dick grumbling about the inaccuracies through it.”

“_Hey_.” Dick makes a face at Kory, and she pats his arm in mock sympathy.

“You know you can’t help it.”

Dick rests his head back, leaving the others to their bickering. Rachel yawns, a tight ball against his side. Reluctantly, she tries to pull away. “I’m going to make you sick, too.”

Dick can’t help smiling, tugs her closer. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos appreciated as always 🌻


End file.
